Monitoring disinfectant residuals (i.e. Free and Total Chlorine and/or Chloramine concentration) is one of the most essential practices in drinking water management programs. This ensures that sufficient protection is maintained at all points in the distribution system. The absence of a disinfectant residual means that suppression of microbiological growth is much more difficult and the rate of regrowth can be significantly accelerated. However, does maintaining an adequate disinfectant residual provide enough protection?
Located on a peninsula in the Gateway Region between New York Bay, Newark Bay, and Kill Van Kull, the City of Bayonne, NJ, is proud to support its economy through traditional manufacturing, distribution, and maritime activities.
In a drastic about-face, California has gone from historically desperate drought conditions to an inundation of water that has brought its own set of problems.
Numerous considerations are in play for utility officials when choosing a data communication system. It is a substantial investment, with the eyes of regulatory agencies and customers watching intently.
Well on the way to becoming a total environmental monitoring solutions provider, Alam Sekitar Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. has applied its expertise in air and water quality monitoring to aid the Malaysian government in safeguarding the nation's water supply. A broad contract between ASMA and Malaysia's Department of the Environment partners the two entities in a highly efficient system that gathers long-term trend data on water quality while also maintaining an early warning system to alert officials and water treatment operators of pollution discharges in key reaches of the country's river system
In the 1990s, the City of Wichita, KS, developed a water supply plan that included creating a sustainable water supply through the year 2050. The key component of the plan is recharging the large aquifer that lies under the region with 100 MGD of water from the Little Arkansas River.
“To me, Microclor® is the top of the line on‐site generation system on the market due to low maintenance and it being very user friendly.” Larry English, Water Quality Manager, Daphne Utilities. Read the full project profile to learn more.
Chemical, petrochemical, and oil-refining plants are process-intensive operations with regulatory requirements to protect the surrounding water and air from the effects of industrial pollution. These external demands are matched by equally compelling internal pressures to address product purification needs, find alternatives to utilizing costly fresh water in production processes, reduce the carbon footprint, and operate efficiently and profitably.
Election season is in full swing and while it may not be the “hottest” topic being debated amongst presidential candidates, the topic of water isn’t being ignored as we approach November. Several candidates have addressed the challenges plaguing water and wastewater systems nationwide.
The pressures of supplying a growing global population mean that the world’s water supplies need to be managed more closely than ever.
In the early days of variable frequency drive (VFD) technology, the typical application was in process control for manufacturing synthetic fiber, steel bars, and aluminum foil.
In 2013 the Drinking Water Inspectorate for England & Wales announced that water samples collected in England and Wales must be tested in a laboratory that meets specific standards for drinking water sampling and analysis. At the time of the new instruction, the chlorine method employed at the Welsh Water Bretton laboratory was unable to meet these requirements, notably for the prescribed limit of detection. This prompted the laboratory to investigate new analytical options for monitoring residual chlorine.
Many factors affect performance of a pH electrode. When performance degrades, it is always a challenge for the analyst to identify the cause. Common troubleshooting procedures, which include evaluation of slope, electrode drift, time response, and accuracy, take considerable time. By Thermo Fisher Scientific
The water municipality at a mid-size city in the Western region of the U.S. serving a population of about180,000 people needed to address a chlorine disinfection system problem at one of its water treatment plants.
Hypochlorite has some significant environmental concerns associated with DBPs and residual toxicity.
Nitrate is present in high levels in wastewater due in part to the high nitrates present in human sewage but also from some types of industrial effluent entering the municipal sewer system.
CoriolisMaster FCB400 series of compact Coriolis mass flowmeters feature low pressure drop, high capacity, intuitive ABB common display, five modular I/O's and HART communication.
ULTRAPEN™ PT4 is Myron L Company’s ground-breaking new pocket tester for measuring free chlorine disinfecting power, free chlorine equivalent (FCE), and temperature. It is waterproof and designed for accuracy and simplicity for use in diverse water quality applications.
SureSafe™ Filter Cartridges will inhibit the growth of Legionella on your filter cartridges. Silver has been used to help sanitize liquids for more than 4,000 years. Permanent Silver Zeolite fibers are used to manufacture HARMSCO® SureSafe™ Filtration Media which inhibits the growth of biofilms on and in the filtration media.
ClorTec T systems easily control sodium hypochlorite production and provide a powerful disinfection method for any application. T systems meet requirements for 2 to 36 lb/day (0.9 to 16 kg/day) chlorine equivalent. Applications include potable water, wastewater, odor and corrosion control, cooling towers, oxidation and swimming pool disinfection.
Reducing maintenance requirements and costs while incorporating the most efficient technologies available, the TrojanUVTorrent™ leads the way for large-scale drinking water disinfection.
The LLT100 is a high performance laser transmitter that accurately measures level, distance and position over short and long ranges. It is a non-contact, level measuring instrument designed for industrial applications and harsh environments.
Rudolph S. Chow, director of the City of Baltimore's Department of Public Works, shares three decades of insight in the course of 10 questions and answers.
Researchers have developed a membrane system that utilizes gravity to reduce operational requirements, proving that simplicity can be a beautiful thing.
A genetic tool has been developed to help water systems understand the root cause of arsenic contamination.
With public safety of primary concern, real-time sensors may be the catalyst for assurance and expansion of potable reuse treatment schemes.
Researchers have begun to explore the idea of 3D printing as a way to manufacture membranes. What could the cutting-edge technology mean for water and wastewater treatment?
Airtime for water industry issues used to be a rarity in mainstream news, but that has changed of late — a development that is not particularly welcome, considering that bad news makes for good copy.
See how 420 Remote Connect/Disconnect Meter (RDM) from Mueller Systems can optimize AMI and AMR systems to help utilities improve the operational efficiency of their water systems.
The Western Governors' Drought Forum webinar “Once Marginal, Now Crucial: The Growing Demand for Re-used, Produced, and Brackish Water” explores the technological and regulatory obstacles to utilizing re-used, produced, and brackish water.
In most developed countries, drinking water is regulated to ensure that it meets drinking water quality standards. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers these standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).
Drinking water considerations can be divided into three core areas of concern:
Drinking Water Sources
Source water access is imperative to human survival. Sources may include groundwater from aquifers, surface water from rivers and streams and seawater through a desalination process. Direct or indirect water reuse is also growing in popularity in communities with limited access to sources of traditional surface or groundwater.
Source water scarcity is a growing concern as populations grow and move to warmer, less aqueous climates; climatic changes take place and industrial and agricultural processes compete with the public’s need for water. The scarcity of water supply and water conservation are major focuses of the American Water Works Association.
Drinking Water Treatment
Drinking Water Treatment involves the removal of pathogens and other contaminants from source water in order to make it safe for humans to consume. Treatment of public drinking water is mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. Common examples of contaminants that need to be treated and removed from water before it is considered potable are microorganisms, disinfectants, disinfection byproducts, inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals and radionuclides.
There are a variety of technologies and processes that can be used for contaminant removal and the removal of pathogens to decontaminate or treat water in a drinking water treatment plant before the clean water is pumped into the water distribution system for consumption.
The first stage in treating drinking water is often called pretreatment and involves screens to remove large debris and objects from the water supply. Aeration can also be used in the pretreatment phase. By mixing air and water, unwanted gases and minerals are removed and the water improves in color, taste and odor.
The second stage in the drinking water treatment process involves coagulation and flocculation. A coagulating agent is added to the water which causes suspended particles to stick together into clumps of material called floc. In sedimentation basins, the heavier floc separates from the water supply and sinks to form sludge, allowing the less turbid water to continue through the process.
During the filtration stage, smaller particles not removed by flocculation are removed from the treated water by running the water through a series of filters. Filter media can include sand, granulated carbon or manufactured membranes. Filtration using reverse osmosis membranes is a critical component of removing salt particles where desalination is being used to treat brackish water or seawater into drinking water.
Following filtration, the water is disinfected to kill or disable any microbes or viruses that could make the consumer sick. The most traditional disinfection method for treating drinking water uses chlorine or chloramines. However, new drinking water disinfection methods are constantly coming to market. Two disinfection methods that have been gaining traction use ozone and ultra-violet (UV) light to disinfect the water supply.
Drinking Water Distribution
Drinking water distribution involves the management of flow of the treated water to the consumer. By some estimates, up to 30% of treated water fails to reach the consumer. This water, often called non-revenue water, escapes from the distribution system through leaks in pipelines and joints, and in extreme cases through water main breaks.
A public water authority manages drinking water distribution through a network of pipes, pumps and valves and monitors that flow using flow, level and pressure measurement sensors and equipment.
Water meters and metering systems such as automatic meter reading (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) allows a water utility to assess a consumer’s water use and charge them for the correct amount of water they have consumed.
